Different Approaches to Increasing Employment of Rural Women

Four powerful women came together on March 13, 2018 to share the work that their governments and organizations have been doing to support rural women and girls everywhere. Hosted by the Government of Hungary, Opportunities and Instruments for Promoting the Employability of Rural Women included panelists from Hungary, Rwanda, Qatar, the International Labour Organization, and UN Women.

Katalin Novak, Hungarian Minister of State for Family and Youth Affairs, discussed Hungary’s approach of building a strong family policy. Novak states that “there is no successful women’s policy without a successful family policy”. The natural link means that the Hungarian government is heavily invested in programs that support families, including initiatives to make the labour market more flexible for parents.

Esperance Nyirasafari, Rwandan Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, spoke about development programs in rural areas. These programs exist throughout Rwanda, offering positive parenting strategies and creating opportunities for women’s participation in other fields. With the government of Rwanda creating approximately 200,000 new jobs each year, Nyirasafari also emphasizes that women in rural areas need to be encouraged to embrace ICT and STEM fields.   

Alette van Leur, a representative from ILO, began with this statement: “the empowerment of women is synonymous with decent work”. Yet, the stats show that women in rural economies often lack decent, productive employment and social protection. Rural women are concentrated in low-skilled and low-productivity jobs. They are also more likely to engage in unpaid work that is both unrecognized and undervalued. With the belief that “limited access to skills development undermines equality,” the ILO aims to change this picture by investing in programs that increase access to education, skills development, and vocational training.

After listening to each panelist, one thing is clear – there is no one way that governments and organizations can support the economic empowerment of rural women and girls. What we have are different approaches, different cultural contexts, and different ideas. By sharing diverse experiences and new ideas, we can gain a better understanding of what governments, international organizations and civil society can do to increase employment of rural women.

Policy Advisor at UN Women, Anuradha Chandran, summed it up best with her statement: “if we do not address this key issue, we will not achieve the SDGs, including the goals of gender equality and that of poverty eradication”. At its core, the economic empowerment of women depends on the quantity and quality of paid employment, but also on the provision or absence of services and social protection.